Internationalization of higher education has become a tool in addressing complex policy issues such as aging demographics, attracting talent and pursuing technological innovations. There are several policy documents guiding internationalization activities at local, regional and global levels (European Commission, 2013; OECD, 2016). While practice is booming, theorizing is lacking. Internationalization has been predominantly conceptualized from the process perspective focusing on motivations and rationales (e.g. Altbach & Knight, 2007; Knight, 2008), challenges and consequences (Knight, 2015) and management and stakeholder experiences (Guo & Guo, 2017; Bedenlier et al., 2018). What is missing in this literature is a policy perspective. There is a clear need for a more fuller and comprehensive understanding of how internationalization policies have emerged, how they interact and shape internationalization processes in local spaces and how they (re)shape and (re)define the purposes, functions and roles of higher educational institutions. The research question guiding the work is the following – What theoretical and conceptual approaches from policy studies help unpack the internationalization of higher education as public policy?

This panel invites researchers from diverse disciplines to examine how internationalization of higher education policies can be theorized and conceptualized. Our intent is to gather perspectives across stakeholders and intersecting policy areas (especially immigration, global affairs, foreign policy and trade) that help illuminate the particular “local” and “global” dimensions of policy.All accepted papers must have a distinct theoretical and/or conceptual approach, supported by empirical examples. Papers must provide an analysis of the three core dimensions of public policy (Howlett, et al., 2009): 1) policy subsystems- policy actors who interact to determine the content and process of public policy making; 2) institutional regimes- structures and institutions that serve to constrain and influence these actors efforts; and 3) policy paradigms- ideas and knowledge that inform their deliberations and actions.

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